Page 58 of One Timer With A Wingman

“I’ve never held a baby before. I don’t know how to change a diaper. This poor child is getting a seriously inexperienced mother.” I pout.

“And father,” Aaron adds.

“That isn’t making me feel better,” I chide.

“Sorry.” He winces. “I spoke to my mom about my fears and she assured me they’re normal. She was adamant that she and Dad had no clue what they were doing with me, and I think I turned out okay.”

“They did good,” I confirm.

Aaron looks at me with a warm smile. This is so weird. We are two people who had an affair and now we are tied for life.

My name is called and I get up to follow the technician. Aaron comes with me.

The technician guides us to a room and asks me to remove my clothes below the waist.

I get changed and she knocks on the door before reentering the room and asks Aaron to take a seat in the corner.

“I’ll have you come closer when I am done with my measurements,” she explains to him.

She asks me for the date of my last period as she squirts a warm jelly on my abdomen. A nervous excitement radiates through every bone in my body. How can I be so scared and happy all at once?

“Okay, you may come over and look now,” she says to Aaron. She really hasn’t pointed to anything on the screen, so it looks like a lot of black with some gray areas.

Aaron walks over. “This here is your baby. See, that’s the heartbeat.” She points to the pulse in the center. “Nice and strong. According to my calculations, you are seven weeks pregnant.”

Tears spring to my eyes. This is real.

Aaron takes hold of my hand, and his eyes fill with tears. Seeing his emotion makes me think that maybe he isn’t such a bad guy. He has good parents and he’s been supportive. We will make good parenting partners.

“That’s our nugget,” he hiccups.

The technician smiles warmly at him. He’s big and burly but on the inside he’s a softy.

“That’s our Nugget,” I repeat.

* * *

The next fewweeks fly by in a blur. Aaron messages me multiple times a day. I head into work at Black Jack’s. When Aaron is in town, he shows up during my shifts. Our friends there are playfully harassing us, wanting to know what is going on with us.

One night, Aaron said to Levi, “I’m just trying to get in her pants again.” Levi fist bumped him and Aaron laughed and gave me a bashful look that made me wonder if there was some truth to his statement. Annie, Ruby, and Charlie have also stopped by while I’ve been working. Thankfully, it wasn’t at the same time as Aaron was here. I keep wondering when my luck will run out and I’ll have to confess to my best friends what’s really going on. Sometimes I feel bad for not keeping them in the loop, but on another level I like having this secret with Aaron. Once news gets out, I will be the center of gossip. The nobody girl who got pregnant by the wingman at school. He’s the school heartbreaker. There have been times I’ve seen Aaron on campus with girls all around him. He’s noticed me but I’ve also asked him not to acknowledge me. Attention is the last thing I need. As it is, there’s gossip floating around after my rapid departure from the gymnastics team. Once I told them I was pregnant, they saw me as a liability. If I got hurt on their watch, it would be trouble for the university, and if something happened to the baby, it would make me a walking disaster, which is what I felt like on most days. Between nausea and eating too many carbs, I stopped feeling like myself. I still went to work out at the gym but my energy levels just weren’t the same and I felt myself losing muscle.

Now it is Sunday morning. The day Mom is coming to collect my car. She was supposed to arrive weeks ago but kept putting it off, and it was just fine with me.

I dressed in an oversized sweatshirt and a pair of leggings. I am eleven weeks pregnant, but I’m not showing. At least not in my belly. My breasts have swelled and hurt and my stomach has a slight bump, but other than that I looked the same. I go downstairs to check if any of my roommates are home. Sometimes they leave early on Sunday to go study on campus. This morning, I have no such luck. One roommate is at the kitchen table doing work. Another is by the couch watching television. I can’t let Mom come inside. I have to tell her about the pregnancy and I need her to keep quiet, which isn’t a guarantee because who knows what kind of reaction to expect from her. She is like a loose cannon. My roommates are the type of girls to gossip. They sleep with athletes and boast about it all the time. If they find out I am pregnant, they will spread the word all over campus.

A text comes in.

Aaron:On my way.

Me:Thought we said it was better I met with Mom alone.

Aaron:That’s what you said, not me. We’re a team. We need to be in this thing together.

Me:We are parenting partners and not everything we do has to be together. Besides, I have a bigger problem, my roommates are all home. I’ll have no privacy.

Aaron: You can come over here.

Me:Are you crazy? You live with my best friends.

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